Weyburn – Long-time trucking company owner Ken Spearing of Oxbow was awarded the honour of being a Southeast Saskatchewan Legend during the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show in Weyburn on June 7. Minister of Energy and Resources Dustin Duncan read the following biography during Spearing’s induction:
Ken was born June 29,1931 in Oxbow, Sask. to Harold and Mammie Spearing. He was the youngest of four boys, Dale, Buddie, Allan, and one sister, Isabelle.
Ken went to school at Arthur public school and then to High school in Outram to Grade 10. He worked on the family farm growing up and spent the winter of 1951 working in the bush in B.C
Ken grew up with a love for trucks, as he had a good one for his sand box when he was a child. At 12 years old he graduated to a Pontiac truck and hauled grain from the combine at harvest time. He also hauled for the RM with a 1946 Ford three-ton farm truck to gravel the roads.
Ken started his oilfield career working seismograph out of Carlyle in 1953 and in 1954 he went to work for Frye Construction building leases for the newly found oil in southeast Saskatchewan. On his days-off he worked as a roughneck on the drilling rigs.
In 1956 Ken purchased a tank truck from Ernie Bowman and in 1957 he and Ernie formed Bowman & Spearing Trucking.
During the Bowman & Spearing partnership they bought out:
• Hammel & Mesham Trucking out of Frobisher, they bought five trucks for $20,000.
• A few years later they bought P&B Trucking of Frobisher, a four-truck company.
• Later they bought John Shillet Trucking of Oxbow, a six-truck company.
• And then Trans X Oilfield Construction of Virden, Man., a company of eight trucks.
This partner-ship lasted until 1978 at which Ken Bought out Bowman and the company became Spearing Services Ltd.
In the early 60's Ken had a small plane. Since the two-way radio's in the trucks were less than satisfactory, Ken occasionally dispatched notes to his truckers by flying over and dropping notes to get information to his employees. He would put notes into a sucker rod collar, so they were heavy enough to drop to the ground.
In 1950 Ken married his sweetheart, Beverly Underhill, and from this union they raised a family of three boys, Brian, Donald & Trevor and one girl, Tracey.
In 1979, when interest rates went to 18 per cent borrowing for more trucks was very difficult. The banker lowered his rate to 12 per cent from then on Ken never looked back. In the coming years, Ken along with his sons built this company into on a of the largest tank trucking company in southeast
Saskatchewan. One employee that stood out for Ken was Ted Wardrope. He was one of the drivers that drove from his high school days until retirement at 65.
The Spearing Family sold out in 2006 and Ken retired. The company still operates as Spearing Services. The blue and white trucks can be seen on almost every road and highway in southeast Saskatchewan.
Ken went through many hardships along the way but survived and was able to make a good living for him and his family as well as his employees.
Congratulations Ken on being a SE Saskatchewan Legend.
